Fermented Fruit Kvass

You are looking at a close-up photo of a 1-day old kvass. I’m guessing that 99% of you are thinking: “Errh, KVASS … what!? Is that another new and complicated health trend?!?” Well, it is not complicated, not new and not a trend – yet anyway. But it is very healthy. If you have tried or heard of the fermented tea, kombucha, this is kind of similar, although a hundred times easier to make.

Kvass is a russian fermented beverage traditionally made with beets, whey and rye bread. This simplified fruit version is whey- and grain free, and still packed with nutritious probiotic enzymes and amazing natural bubbles. Personally I think fruit Kvass tastes somewhat like a healthy version of apple cider, but maybe I’m the only one making that connection? It has a fruity flavor with a slight hint of vinegar, honey and fizzy bubbles that teases your tongue. It is a good alternative to a soft drink, an evening cocktail or a healthy morning shot. You can vary the flavors and fruit as you like, but to help you out we have compiled a list of suggestions after the recipe.

It is a very easy recipe with few ingredients and short preparation time (yes, 48 hours is actually short, for being a fermented beverage). So this is perfect if you want to try fermenting for the first time. As with kombucha, this is something that not everyone will love immediately. I did, but David had to try it a few times to get used to it. Now we both enjoy it (although me still more than him)

I have learned this fermented beverage technique from the inspiring author and whole food pioneer Rebecca Wood. She has written a handful of books about healthy food and grains. I have just ordered: ‘The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia’. Can’t wait until it arrives!

If you like this recipe you probably also love kombucha, which we have a recipe for in our upcoming cookbook.

1/4 of a large glass jar of mixed organic ripe fruit (we used fresh peaches and blackberries) 1 tbsp unpasteurized honey 1-inch fresh ginger, peeled pure water to almost fill the jar (you get best result with filtered or mineral water)

Place fruit, honey and ginger in the jar. Add water to fill up the jar, except the top inch. You’ll need that extra space to allow pressure to build. Tightly close the jar. Place in room temperature for 2-3 days, give it a shake twice a day to prevent bacteria from forming on the surface. After 24 hours you can see fermentation bubbles. Taste your brew every day to see when it is ready, it depends on the room temperature and sugar content. It should taste sweet and tangy and the fruit look ‘cooked’. Strain the brew and drink as it is or store in the fridge for up to a week.

If you have any problems with the fermenting process, you could add whey or yeast as a starter, it could depend on the water or the honey you use. I use (scandinavian) tap water or filtered tap water.

The natural alcohol level in homemade Kvass is very very low, about 0.05%-1.0%, which means that children can drink it too.

Ps. We were so amazed by your fantastic love and wedding stories on our previous post. Thank you so much for sharing! If you haven’t read them. Check out last weeks post and scroll down to the comment section.

Agave contains more fructose than high fructose corn syrup (from 70-90%); the marketing of agave has declared it to be natural and “healthy”. They have ridden the coattails of the glycemic index without revealing the truth about what high levels of fructose does to the liver and body in relation to LDL’s.
Fructose is processed by your liver into triglycerides or stored as fat. Not only is it taxing your liver, but it actually sends your liver into hyperdrive synthesizing fat… Increases up to 75%!
This adipose fat is designed as stored energy and changes the blood glucose balance which contributes to insulin sensitivity. There is also a rise in dense LDL particles and oxidized LDL (low-density lipoprotein)…
Think of it like sand in the ocean…. The finer particles (LDL) settle underneath the coarser sand (HDL) above…. The larger particulate is in motion at the top while the finer, forms a sticky muck underneath…. This is how cholesterol essentially works where it forms plaque on our arteries.
In short, fructose impairs glucose-induced hepatic triglyceride synthesis; agave in fact, might be the worst offenders and extremely unhealthy.
A better option which only contains 6% glucose/fructose and also extremely low on the glycemic index would be coconut palm sugar. The only unfortunate aspect of this sugar is that it is harvested from the flowering portion of the palm; if you are familiar, this is what becomes the coconut. Sustainable yes, but it robs from the coconut/coconut oil industry.
You decide, but stay far away from agave for your own health.

Honey is also a fantastic product, I can’t imagine how small scale farming of honey is detrimental too the bees or our bodies. I once ate honey comb from a hive placed in the middle of a Pikake field in Kauai, it was pure armotic bliss…. To support a symbiotic relationship in such an artful manner seems nothing short of highly sensible.

I’m a big fan of kombucha but I’ve never heard of kvass. This looks so easy to make! I made my first batch of sauerkraut this summer so I’m feeling a bit less intimidated with the fermenting process-plus all that good bacteria is great for us! Will definitely give this a try. I have tons of peaches so I’d like to use them in this. Thanks for sharing :)

I’m certainly not thinking that! I was born in Russia and am quite familiar with this tasty beverage. I love the idea of making it without the whey and grain. I wonder, though, is it ok to drink it when you’re pregnant?

Hi Kasey!
The alcohol content in fermented beverages (Kombucha & Kvass) is generally very very low. But since you can’t control it, when making it at home, I would recommend you to get natural probiotic from fermented dairy (kefir, yogurt, lacto-fermented veggies and fruit, etc.) and food (sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled veggies, chutneys, tempeh, miso, sourdough bread, etc.) instead. You can even take probiotic supplement (I did that when I was pregnant with Elsa).
All the best
Luise

Interesting. My parent make a fermented drink that is very similar which is supposed to be good for the health (and tastes quite pleasant too). I tried it once myself, but have now mostly forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder!

So beautiful! Love kvass, being where I am from. Your take on it is great, I really want to give it a try. Also just got my hands on a kombucha culture, so I’m on a total fermented drink kick right now :)

Thank you so much for such an easy recipe! I have been thinking about making kvass for months but all the recipes I found discouraged me a little. But today I am definitely going to try it. Just a couple of questions: can I vary the fruit combinations or is there any specific reason for those you have listed? What capacity should have the jar with this amounts of ingredients?

Hi Chiara!
You can vary the combination of fruit, veggies and spices to the endless. I use a 32 oz glass jar (makes about 6 cups kvass), but you can use any size, just adjust the amount of honey.
Happy fermenting
Luise

I wasn’t aware that you can make kvass with fruit. I’ve been drinking raw beet kvass which has much more than just a hint of a vinegar taste. however, it aides in liver function and digestion. Does the fruit kvass have these benefits as well?

My first brewing experience was with water kefir, and I’ve since moved on to a continuous brew kombucha system. I love that this uses honey instead of white sugar, and such a small amount of it as well. I’m kind of amazed by the fermentation here without some sort of culture. I’ll have to try it, you’ve piqued my curiosity.

I love this! I love all of your recipes always but this is perfect since I can go home right now and start making it. Also, fermenting sounds very mad-diy-scientist and I like it! I have a couple of questions: Is the purpose of the honey to provide sugar for the fermentation? Or is it for flavoring? I would love to try this with molasses if it is at all posible, since as a newly vegetarian trying to go vegan, I’m having trouble keeping my iron levels ok. Also, do you know if the nutrients of yeast are kept throughout the process? Or maybe they even increase? Thank you so much! Your blog is a weekly source of joy and I can’t wait for your book!

Hi Moira! Haha I like overly-paranoid Americans like you! It is important to use of nontoxic organic ingredients, that helps to ensure the purity quality of the final product. A couple of things you can do:
Wash your hands
Start with very clean glass containers
Rinse the fruit well before use
Use cold fresh (filtered) water
Keep the jar in a cool place away from direct light

I first learned about kvass from reading Anna Karenina and when I visited Moscow, I couldn’t wait to try it. While it didn’t quite live up to my imagination, this homemade version sounds more appealing (especially if served chilled). Thanks for the recipe!

I am lucky in having Swedish neighbours so have had the pleasure of tasting kvass (much better than snaps!), but never thought to make it myself. I dabble in fermentation by making kimchee and sourdough, and kvass certainly doesn’t look any scarier than those, so I might just have to try it. Loads of Victoria plums in my garden right now, so maybe a pairing with cardamom and cinnamon might be a lush autumnal treat. Thanks for this :D

Do you have any idea how much sugar from the honey is leftover at the end of brewing? I ferment my kombucha 2-3 weeks so that most of the sugar is gone, but in a 48-72 hour ferment, it seems likely that a lot of sugar would be left? We try to avoid sugar completely in our house, but I love fermented foods and really want to try this! Thanks :)

Wow Im so excited to make this! I buy a drink called ‘Bio bubble’ from the health food store which sounds like what you describe as Kvass. Its quite expensive so I love the idea of being able to make something similar myself!

I’m thrilled to find your recipe, but am wondering if the kvass is kept out of the refrigerator past the 2-3 days, will it continue to ferment (and hopefully become more bubbly), or must it go into the refrigerator to keep from spoiling. Also reading your recipe compelled me to look at others, and all mention the importance of weighing down the fruit to keep it submerged in the water during fermentation. Do you know what that is about? Thanks!

Thank you so much for the inspiration – mange tak (; Right after reading your post I rushed to the local organic store in Copenhagen and bought unheated honey to accompany plums self-picked at Møn. Now it has fermented for 45 hours and it looks ready. However it smells alcoholic, but tastes really great. Is alcoholic smell a sign of over fermentation? Do you know if the production of alcohol can produce the dangerous ethanol?
Best regards
Rasmus

Kære Rasmus,
Self-picked plums from Møn sounds amazing! Depending on the room temperature it can ferment faster then 48 hours, it is done when it has a subtle taste of vinegar and is bubbly. The raw honey and fruit sugar turns into alcohol, to minimize the alcohol even further reduce the fermentation time. It usually takes corn, grains or yeast to create ethanol, don’t worry, you won’t create any dangerous ethanol from this fermenting Kvass recipe.

Ethanol is not dangerous: it’s just plain old drinking alcohol like in wine and beer. The bad one is methanol, but you don’t get it in this brief of a fermentation time. Methanol is more of a bathtub gin type of contaminant which you need distillation to remove.

I just made the apple/cinnamon kvass. It fermented for 3 days on my countertop and although I did see some very very small bubbles, it had no bubbles when I served it! Is it supposed to have bubbles?

Here is what I did:
– Sliced an apple and put in a clean glass jar.
– Added a stick of cinnamon to the jar.
– Filled with water until the fruit was covered, leaving about 1 inch of air at the top.
– Put the lid on top and left on the counter.
– Shook the jar 3 times per day for 3 days.
– Tasted on the 3rd day, which tasted like apple juice, so I put in the refrigerator.
– Poured and drank it 3 days later.

Mine also only tasted sort of like an apple cider. It didn’t taste… special, I suppose! I expected this to be a very interesting drink, but it just wasn’t. It’s not bad! Just not amazing!

This definitely caught my attention! I’m from Ukraine but live in New York. Due to the large immigrant population, some ethnic grocery stores sell 2-liter bottles of kvass, but it is not the same as the stuff sold at street stands that I remember (that tasted more like something between beer and hard cider, and the bottled stuff tastes like… sweet, bready soda). Anyway, I don’t trust the bottled stuff to be close to the real thing, the sweetness is unpleasant, and I am dubious of the probiotics, but my father drinks it all the time, so I am very happy to have found such a simple and healthy alternative!
Have you ever tried a shot of raspberry liquor in a glass of apple cider? It’s delicious. So I’m going to try to ferment apples and raspberries! Thanks again for the great idea!!

Hi Flora,
you get the best result when using pure water and unpasteurized honey when fermenting. If using tap water or pasteurized honey you need to add a starter, such as yeast or whey.
Good luck
/Luise

I’ve made sourdough and my own yogurt, and I’ve loved the results with both. Now I want to try this. Sounds delicious! Just so I understand how this process works though, where is the bacteria coming from that’s necessary for the fermentation process? The absence of a starter has me a bit confused, and because the kvass is closed off to air, it’s not pulling bacteria from the environment. Is it simply a chemical reaction between the sugars in the fruit and the honey? Tanks again for a lovely post! Your site is always inspiring!

Sounds yum, can’t wait to make it.
I have 3 questions tho….
1.I would have thought you wouldn’t need to add a sugar, ie honey, because the fruit has plenty of it’s own sugar to feed the bacteria.
2.You recommend storing for up to one week. I thought ferments last months in the fridge?
3. You recommend adding yeast. Yeast is a fungus and would actually harm the ferment I would have thought. The rye bread used by others would be sourdough (no yeast) and that’s what acts as the sugar.

Can I use frozen fruit or berries to get variety? This sounds wonderful, I’ve already started apple and blueberry and can’t wait to try it. Fruit and berries are very seasonal here and except for a couple of months a year often come from South and Central American countries and are certainly not organic. In the summer I freeze as much as I can. It would be great if I could use my frozen harvest. Jacque

Great DIY recipe for fermented fruit kvass. Fruit kvass is one of my favorite drinks since it is packed with nutrients, probiotics and has no added sugar. In a pinch, I love the 100% organic raw beet kvass from EATProbiotics as well. Theirs is packed with probiotics and nutrients and great as a quick shot in the morning!

I made this with apples, lime and cardamom. Unfortunately I didn’t peel the lime, I will do that next time, cause it turned out a little bitter. I didn’t think the fermenting process was working, until I wanted to throw it away after a couple of days and it turned out that it dit work! I’m so happy! It’s a super exiting thing to do.
I’m drinking some with coconutwater now, it makes the flavour a little less in your face.
I really don’t like to drink lemonade, but I like to drink other things than water in the summer. This is perfect!

thank you for your recipes for Kvaas, I will try them this week. Ive recently made beet and carrot Kvaas and was looking for a fruit ferment. I was wondering though, can I use Stevia as a sweetner? Not that I am apposed to honey, I just thought I would try it. Im going to use blue berries and cheeries.
Thanks
Lin

Hi, Thanks you for the great ideas. To cover my kombucha, milk kefir and yogurt jars while fermenting I use an unbleached coffee filter held on with a covered elastic ponytail holder which works great! I am surprised to see your suggestion for covering tightly with a lid. Does the flow of air make a difference and Would the coffee filter work? Thanks